Frans Lanting has been hailed as one of the great photographers of our time. His influential work appears in books, magazines, and exhibitions around the world. Born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, he moved to the United States to study environmental planning. Soon after, he began photographing the natural world--and never turned back. For three decades he has documented wildlife from the Amazon to Antarctica to promote understanding about the Earth and its natural history through images that convey a passion for nature and a sense of wonder about our living planet.

Lanting's work is commissioned frequently by National Geographic, where he served as a Photographer-in-Residence. His assignments have ranged from a first look at the fabled bonobos of the Congo to a unique circumnavigation by sailboat of South Georgia Island in the sub Antarctic.

In 2006, Lanting and his wife and partner, Chris Eckstrom, launched The LIFE Project, a lyrical interpretation of the history of life on Earth, as a book, an exhibition, a website (www.LifeThroughTime.com), and a multimedia orchestral performance with music by Philip Glass. The LIFE symphony premiered in Santa Cruz, California, that same year, and has been touring North America and Europe ever since. ORIGINS, a new multimedia production based on LIFE, was performed in Geneva, Switzerland, at the official ceremony to inaugurate CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, the largest machine ever built to study the origins of the universe.

Lanting has received many awards for his work, including top honors from World Press Photo, the title of BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year, and the Sierra Club’s Ansel Adams Award. Lanting has also been honored as a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society in London and is a recipient of Sweden’s Lennart Nilsson Award. In 2001, H.R.H. Prince Bernhard inducted him as a Knight in the Royal Order of the Golden Ark, the Netherlands’ highest conservation honor.

Lanting’s mission is to use photography to help create leverage for conservation efforts ranging from local initiatives to global campaigns, through his publications, alliances, public appearances, and active support of environmental organizations.

"No one turns animals into art more completely than Frans Lanting" - The New Yorker.

“As a chronicler of natural history today, Frans Lanting is a singular, extraordinary talent. He has the mind of a scientist, the heart of a hunter, and the eyes of a poet.” Thomas Kennedy, former Director of Photography at National Geographic Magazine.

“Frans Lanting has set the standards for a whole generation of wildlife photographers,’’ according to the BBC.

Extraordinary award-winning natural history images by National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting, will be featured in the beloved TREES installation.

Look3

Charlottesville, VA

Our mission is to celebrate the vision of extraordinary photographers, ignite conversations about critical issues, and foster the next generation of artists.

As a nonprofit organization, LOOK3 challenges assumptions about photography by presenting diverse work by a variety of artists, developing innovative educational initiatives, and offering immersive community events.